The End of the Millennium: Guardian's Return A Xian Shade Production Author's Note: I'm impatient about reviews, so if you don't want to/can't review, at least drop me an email and tell me what you think. After all, some people believe public opinion sometimes is frowned upon. I think the story's going fairly well so far, and I've re-written pretty much everything from chapter three on, so any of you who've read my story before, you're obviously noticing a change! I honestly had no intention of having tux-boy attacked the first time I wrote the story. He just pisses me off how he throws a flower (he throws like a girl :P) and never really challenges the monsters himself. I like his abilities in the manga better. He's more of a mascot or a distraction than an assistance in the anime. The only time he played a decent part was when Zoicite was after him. When he got hurt, he was fighting... not for the world, but for his life. Some planetary guardian, huh? Ok, enough rant. Disclaimer, then, ad infinitum, story. Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos and all other characters are © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit. Guardian's Return, Chapter 6: Hikawa Shrine, 10:38 PM The scouts sat gathered in Rei's room, detransformed, trying to figure out what went wrong. Only Rei wasn't present, as she set about relighting the fire once again, trying to contact Ares, and find out why he had betrayed them. Their enemy was indeed as intelligent as they were warned they were, but the scouts had assistance. Assistance that saved them, but took from them an ally. "Ami-chan, Hotaru-chan, I think it's time you told the rest of us what you know." Makoto said. It was far from a request. All eyes pointed to the shortest scouts of the group. "I can't really tell you all that much. He LOOKS like the monster that had invaded chibiusa's dreams, but he insists he isn't. He's the figure from the nightmares I had recently, and he's somehow tied to my past... my dreams seem to be how he's making me remember my previous life. He wasn't exactly welcome on my world, I can tell you that much." "He wasn't welcome on any world..." Hotaru interrupted and spoke evenly, her eyes were cold and dead like so long ago, when she was still possessed by Mistress Nine. Now all eyes focused on her. "In my previous lifetime on Saturn, I first saw that black being... he was tugging at my father's soul, trying to get him to cooperate. His name is Thanatos... but my people refer to him as 'Death'. He considered himself the god of my people, but we hated him. It was because of his presence that our planet wasn't officially included in the Silver Millennium, why my father died in that time, and why the three other outer planets' people weren't really considered close guardians. My people were the sore spot of the galaxy, and it was his fault." "That sounds pretty bitter coming from you Hotaru-chan." Mina replied, not expecting much for response, nor getting any. She continued. "You said he was going to take Mamoru-san. Do you know where he was taking him?" Hotaru simply looked down, clenching her fists, and becoming fascinated with something on the table, as she wouldn't look anywhere else. "What I meant by taking him was what he almost did to Haruka-papa... he was taking him for soul divining, and reincarnation." Usagi clutched at the skirt of her school uniform, also becoming fascinated with the table. "So he's... gone?" Tears began welling up in her eyes once more. "No, he's still alive." Rei said, sliding open the door to her room and closing it again with a relieved look on her face. "I did another reading and finally got something... I saw him under their care. They were trying to save him as best they could." "What do you mean? Didn't Thanatos say his wound was incurable?" Ami asked, taking note of his name, rolling it over in her mind. It was somewhat familiar, but not quite. "Yes, but they can stabilize him for now. From what I saw, they can minimize the spread of infection, but they won't be able to completely heal him until he's cured." Rei said matter-of-factly. "Which is impossible, right?" Michiru pointed out, figuring there must be a loophole somewhere. "I know he'll be fine. I saw him alive and fighting in the vision as well." Rei finished. "This Ares guy sure has a lot to say for someone who wouldn't answer the phone not too long ago..." Usagi said, relieved that Mamoru would be all right. "What about that red armored guy that tried to attack me? Anyone recognize him?" Rei groaned, holding her head. "Usagi-chan, THAT was Ares-sama. He did that because we wouldn't let them near Mamoru-san, and the longer they waited, the less of a chance he had." She flicked her dark raven hair aside, looking to Ami. "All right, then. So far we've encountered Thanatos and Ares. We guessed right about Ares being his brother, but now I'm not sure. If this is the same guy from your dream then he said there was another brother, right?" "He mentioned another brother, yes... as well as someone called Noah. It's possible they're the same person." Ami reviewed her notes. "You don't need to look into it." Setsuna spoke for the first time that day since she launched her part of the triple strike on the Dark Force. "The third you're considering is Chronos-sama. He's spoken with me quite often about his brothers, and the rashness of their actions in the days of the Silver Millennium." "He usually protects the time gates when you're not there, right?" Haruka asked, her chest muscles were tightened painfully from her encounter with Thanatos, and she looked as though she were suffering from a heart attack. Ami's scans thankfully proved otherwise. "Yes. It would explain why he was not present with his other brothers. I was absent from my post, so he took my place when I left to aid you. That was a good plan, by the way, to have us hide as backup while Minako-chan distracted Zio." Setsuna both explained and congratulated to Ami. "Something's off though. He mentioned the name Noah as though it had some meaning... he told me Noah 'tangled the strings of the war'." Ami hardly heard Setsuna's compliment, as the puzzle began to form a picture, but pieces were still missing. "Is it necessary to know?" Makoto asked her. "We have a new enemy, two or three new allies, and high school to deal with, plus Tuxedo Mask out of the picture. Is a small detail like that really worth it?" A sigh escaped a few scouts lips, and stretches came from the others. The outers stood. "Perhaps we should take the advice from the message. Haruka-san and Michiru-san will be keeping guard outside. I must return to the time gates and relieve Chronos. Hotaru-chan, you know the most about our somewhat-ally... hopefully you can protect the others if he attempts anything in the night." Setsuna explained and nodded to her friends, before phasing out of reality. The remaining three outers transformed, Uranus and Neptune stepped out into the chill night air, while Saturn held her glaive ready, preparing to watch over the room while the others turned in for the night. Ami's Dream, 11:00 PM Ami's mind whirled even in her sleep over the little fragment of information, rattling around like a pebble in a jar. Another dream of her past became evident. Faces became more real, and conversations were remembered over the time she'd had the rest of her dreams. This dream, however, left her feeling odd. She watched from behind the Queen's throne on Mercury, looking at the back of her father. "I cannot believe you would do this to us... our first child, abandoning us?!" The king of Mercury positively roared with anger, and Ami didn't really understand. What did she do that upset her father? Why wasn't her father even looking at her? "You have to understand... I cannot take this life! Our people coop themselves up all the time, making improvements to life rather than living those improvements! As royalty, I live more as your shadow than my own life! I cannot leave to enjoy life, because I'm smothered!" a girl's voice spoke, a tad deeper than her own. Her father wasn't talking to her, but to someone else. The words he spoke a moment before hit her. '...our first child.' '...our first child.' A presence loomed over her shoulder. "The past is indeed painful, is it not?" Ami turned about to see the dark form of Thanatos watching over her as the dream played out, a sympathetic hand upon her shoulder. "Your elder sister, Kyra. She never wanted the crown, or the large responsibility. If it weren't for her leaving, we probably never would have met." his voice echoed in that same, doubled-over tone. She turned her head back to see the arguing family, spotting the object of her memory. Her sister couldn't have been three years older than she at that time, but the similarities were hard to deny. That same aqua blue short hair, deep ocean eyes, and though taller than herself, the still short stature. Peeling herself away from the scene, she looked to him again. "Why are these memories necessary?" she asked, not really disturbed anymore, but more curious than anything. His gaze never left her face, and his hand gestured to the side, and the room blurred for a moment, to settle in another, smaller room. "Your sister's renouncement of her title weakened your mother when she was already terribly ill... so much so that her time had come much sooner than expected. I was required to take her spirit and hold it until the appropriate time... but when I was to do my job, I saw you, clasping her hand, listening to her as she told you of your new destiny as the future queen." He pointed over to the scene he described. "Only those who are due to be taken by me can see me without my will... but somehow, on that day..." They watched as his younger form appeared, and when her mother looked at him, young Princess Amilia followed her gaze. "You shouldn't be here... my mother's very sick." the princess told him. He tilted his head, dumbfounded. She shouldn't have been able to see him. No matter... "I'm here to help your mother. She will not get better, I'm afraid. I am here to help ease her passing." the thousand-year younger Thanatos explained. "You're death, aren't you?" she blurted out. A smile lurked somewhere behind the mask. "Perhaps I am." he replied. "Nobody could help her... I'm glad you can. People say you're bad... Why?" Amilia was a seeker of knowledge even at her younger age, and even in her past life. "People say I'm bad because they think I cause death. The truth is I just help people who are close to death to overcome their pain and move on. Nobody goes before it becomes their time." "But what about people who get killed?" "Sad to say, but it is generally their time when they're killed... and I don't take everyone. I simply help those that need it, like your mother does." "That's good to know. I'm Princess Amilia of the kingdom of Mercury. Nice to meet you, Death." the girl held out her hand. Again, that dumbfounded tilt of the head. He extended a black-gloved hand, and took the smaller one. "Please, call me Thanatos." The dream froze over to grayscale, crystallized, and blew away like sand, leaving a solid-white void they floated in. "That day, I met someone who saw me for who I was, not for what others believed me to be. I gained my first real friend. You." he explained, blatantly standing out in the white backdrop, being all black. "Then why were you hurting Uranus earlier? You pulled at her soul, but you told me back then that you never took someone before they were ready!" She shouted at him. "And I did not take her, nor was I going to. It was merely a threat to make her stand down. Much like we did with your leader. But unfortunately that action may have awakened some unpleasant memories for the child of Saturn. She also knows of me from the past, and remembers my transgressions against her father... what a mess that was. In a moment of rash stupidity, I sealed my fate and the fate of the whole planet as an outcast for this galaxy. I did not take her father's life then, nor did I take it in this new lifetime. In that old time, her father grew ill after I'd 'threatened' him, and when he died, she blamed me for his death." He explained. She sighed. He seemed unwilling or unable to argue, and thus far he only struck when threatened, but still, only as a warning. Here was no monster. Here was just a person, a friend, genuinely concerned for all their safety. It was no wonder he was misunderstood and outcast. "All right. I apologize for my accusation... but some things are bothering me. Who is Noah?" "Noah is my brother." "Isn't Chronos your brother?" He was silent for a moment. "Yes, he is." "But you said you only had two brothers?" "No, I said I only had two brothers that served this system." Tricky! "Fair enough. Who is our enemy then?" "I cannot say just yet." "Why?" "Because your friends are attempting to wake you, and they suspect foul play on my part." he said, gesturing to the white background. "They've been trying to wake you for a few minutes now. I must go. We will speak again..." "Wait!" She shouted, but his black form phased to white, and she heard the faint sounds of her friends shouting to her and the feeling of them shaking her, until finally she opened her eyes. "What? I'm up!" she said, wiping the sleep from her eyes as she sat up from the small bedroll. "You're lucky it's the weekend, Ami-chan! You slept in!" Minako prodded. She looked at her watch. 10:03 AM "I slept for eleven hours?!" Ami cried out, listening to her watch to see if it was working properly. "He talked to you again, didn't he? I couldn't get in." Rei interrogated the still somewhat-groggy Ami. "Spill it. What did he want?" "He's shown me many things about my past. He's trying to assure me that he means us no harm... and I believe him." Ami smoothed out the hair that felt astray. "Any sign of our enemy or our allies?" "None... but we haven't been able to contact any of the outers. Even Hotaru-chan's missing!" Usagi was still worried all the same about Mamoru, and now that included the other four scouts. There was a knock at the door to Rei's room. "Rei-san, there's someone here to see one of your friends. You guys awake? and decent?" came the voice of Yuuichiro from the other side of the door. "Give us a minute, Yuuichiro-san. We'll be right out. Who is it?" "Some guy named Sam. Says he knows you guys from school." The girls blinked, looking back and forth between each other. How did he know where they lived, or for the matter of the moment... stayed? ------------------------------------------------------------------- TBC.